According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20 km2), of which, 7.8 square miles (20 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.51%) is water.

The town is located at the beginning of the North Carolina Piedmont, on the Roanoke River at the fall line, which marks the area where an upland region (continental bedrock) and a coastal plain (coastal alluvia) meet. The fall line is typically prominent where a river crosses it, for there will usually be rapids or waterfalls. Because of these features, river boats typically could not travel any further inland. Because settlements needed a port and a ready supply of water power, they often developed where the river crosses the fall line. The Roanoke River and its falls inspired the development of Roanoke Rapids; businessmen such as Sam Patterson and other textile manufacturers used the river to power their mills.

The most prominent example of fall line settlement was the establishment of the cities along the eastern coast of the United States where the Appalachian Rise and the coastal plains meet.

The seven-mile-long Roanoke Rapids Canal trail starts at the Roanoke dam and ends roughly a mile after passing the historic aqueduct. The trail is fairly narrow, which limits access to walkers, runners, and bikers.

There were 6,437 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 19, 5.9% from 20 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females there were 84.84 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.51 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,388, and the median income for a family was $51,548 (2012 dollars). About 15.9% of families and 19.9% of individuals were below the poverty line, including 26.4% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

The city was first settled as a mill town, being home to multiple textile mills. Crystal Lee Sutton (Jenkins), was a worker and union organizer for the J.P. Stevens & Co. mill in Roanoke Rapids, upon whose union activities the movie Norma Rae was based. Due to increased labor cost, all the textile mills are now closed and nearly 3,000 employees eventually lost their jobs. Currently, the unemployment rate is nearly 13%. Roanoke Rapids is now home to a KapStone Paper and Packaging paper manufacturing facility.

The Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail is one of the city's oldest historical sites. The 1823 canal lock building has been adapted as a museum to show the significance of the canal system to American westward expansion. It offers an in-depth look at the influential people who pushed for the Roanoke River to become a source of trade and navigation, as well as the commodities that were shipped and traded on the Roanoke River. The trail, over seven miles long, is adjacent to the museum and largely parallel to the Roanoke River. It is commonly used by runners, bikers, photographers, and wildlife admirers. It is used as the course for the annual Roanoke Canal Half Marathon, and the Roanoke Canal Mountain Biking Club is located nearby.

Roanoke Rapids had planned Carolina Crossroads, an entertainment district founded by a group of local business developers. Attractions were to include the Randy Parton Theater as an anchor for the development, an outdoor amphitheater, a campground, an aquarium, hotels, restaurants, outlet shopping, travel center, several other dinner theaters, and water park. The association between the city and Randy Parton, brother of Dolly Parton, ended in December 2006. The city renamed the theater as the Roanoke Rapids Theater. A Black Widow Billiards Center was also announced by the pool player, Jeanette Lee.[8] In October 2008, the city agreed to a lease/sale of the Roanoke Rapids Theater to Lafayette Gatling for $12.5 million. Gatling, a Chicago developer, said he would continue to develop the theater and work with the developers of the Carolina Crossroads entertainment district.[9] None of the deals have materialized, however, and the theatre remains an economic drain and hot-button topic in Roanoke Rapids. In November 2011, the city agreed to sell the theater outright to Gatling in an effort to reduce the city's debt from the project.[10]